South Mar Vista Secession Movement: “Like Network, We’re Not Going to Take it Anymore”

SECESSION FEVER - Frustrated by what they feel is a disconnect between their local council district and their concerns over infrastructure challenges, a group of homeowners in southern Mar Vista have been meeting in recent weeks to quietly examine the possibility of leaving Los Angeles for their eastern neighbor, Culver City.

Although the discussions are in their nascent stage, the potential loss of property values, the feeling of being ignored and disenchantment with city government are apparently fueling the desire for greener pastures to the point where leaders of the South Mar Vista Association recently took the temperature of the organization to see how deep-seated the feelings for annexation or secession are among their neighbors and friends.

An email obtained by The Argonaut illustrates some of their grievances against the city government in a straw poll conducted recently to gauge the level of interest in exploring becoming part of Culver City.

The results of the poll were not provided.

“A group of residents and business owners of south Mar Vista have been meeting for several months to discuss the pros and cons of south Mar Vista being run by Culver City instead of Los Angeles,” the email begins.

“Some of the items that have been the topic of discussion is that south Mar Vistans put millions of tax dollars in the city of Los Angeles’ coffers and basically get nothing in return. The streets are full of potholes, you can’t drive down most alleyways without damaging your car; the streets are filthy and some are not even cleaned on a weekly basis; the city has a build, build, build policy so that they can build up city funds with permit fees and total disregard to the increased density and increased traffic, making all streets south and north gridlocked from around 4-7 p.m. every day and we have a mayor working about one hour per day to run this city.

“These are just some of the topics that I understand have been discussed, however there is much more,” the email concludes.

(The rest of the Argonaut story … including reaction from Councilman Rosendahl’s office and some of the hurdles faced by the frustrated Mar Vistans … here.)